


Nuclear

by Nuclear_AlexP



Category: Original Work
Genre: Kidnapping, Original Character(s), Original Story - Freeform, Possible violence, mention of war, will add tags as the story goes on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-06-28 20:44:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15714753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nuclear_AlexP/pseuds/Nuclear_AlexP
Summary: this story takes place in the year 2118, 100 years after WW3, or the Nuclear War. The world has been left in a ruined, radiated state. In order to stay safe from the radiation, giant eco-domes were built around the capital cities in each country. Alex is from the British Dome, over the city of London.It follows Alex Peterson, a regular, rich, London boy. That is, until he is kidnapped, and taken across the country to the ruined city of Liverpool. It is there, where Alex meets a mysterious stranger, who accompanies him on his quest to get back home. However, the radiation has had an extreme effect on the world, leaving danger and obstacles along the road.-------------Follow Alex in his Journey across England, and meet interesting friends, and brutal enemies, along the way.





	1. Bad News Travels Fast, But Never Reaches Me

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first chapter in my original story: Nuclear. I hope you enjoy it.  
> I also have the story on Tumblr, where you can talk to me, and ask questions, and all that, if you want. Here it is:  
> https://nuclearalexp.tumblr.com/
> 
> sorry about any spelling or grammar mistakes, I'm just bad at English... (I have no excuse, English is my first language, I am just bad.)

I snapped back into reality as our history teacher carried on her boring annual lecture about the III World War, or more commonly known as The Nuclear War. The war that caused global imprisonment. Yay, captivity!

“-And four years after the first nuclear bomb was dropped on the city of Pyongyang, North Korea, the Human Life Preservation Project was finally complete, allowing the human race to live in safety, protected by the Dome from the radiation covering the planet. Now, can anyone tell me what the wall of the dome is made of?” Mrs Angleson queried, looking out to the class of 15-year olds, expectantly. “Yes, Mr Groden?”

“It’s made of two giant walls of concrete, fortified with three covers of lead. One on the outside, one in the middle, and one on this side.” My mate, George, answered. Out of the three of us, me, Martin, and George, he is definitely the smartest. He always got the highest score in tests, not just out of us, but the whole class, and he always knew the most random facts about everything under the sun. He’s a nerd, but he’s our nerd.

“That is correct, Mr Groden, as always.” Mrs Angleson likes George. It’s the only thing that I like about her. The only thing we agree on is that George is great.  
I turned to look at George, to check his response to his correct answer. As I suspected, he was slyly grinning to himself, sneakily (he thinks) eying the girl across the room. Her name is Elsie, and George has been madly in love with her for the past four years. She’s the only one in the year that can match him on his intellect, and she’s gotten extremely pretty in the past few years, which has really flustered him. It’s funny, in an annoying way. She’s all he goes on about.

Mrs Angleson carries on her rambling, insisting that the HLPP was amazing, and the best thing that could have happened to the human race. I disagree. As does my other friend, Martin. This is made especially clear when we have this annual lesson. When the teacher gets to the bit about the totally equal entry into the eco-dome.  
“Pfft.” The loud and overly-opinionated-and-not-afraid-to-tell-you member of the group expressed his distaste for that particular notion with a loud puff sound from his mouth, this year, joining forces with the exaggerated-eye-role-of-displeasure.  
The teacher glared angrily. “Problem, Mr Williams?”

“With you, no. With the equality comment, yes.” Martin was clever, he knew all about the things he cared about, but he just doesn’t know when the shut his mouth.  
“And what is wrong with it, Mr Williams?”

“Just that it wasn’t equal at all. When the Dome was finally finished, there was a huge fee to get in, and that was only entry! You then had to buy a place to live and find a job to pay for everything else, which was almost impossible as half the country was applying too, on top of the travel cost it took to actually get to London from where ever you came from! The entire reason we have the slums near the wall is because those are the descendants of the people who had just enough money to get in to safety, but not to live. The fee was so high because the government only wanted to help the rich, like with everything else in history. The rich get everything while the poor get nothing. Capitalism at its best, I think.” Told you. He knows his stuff.

“Mr Williams, that is enough! Go to the headmaster’s office this instant!”

“Why though? I’m just telling the truth!”

“I said NOW!” Mrs Angleson yelled, pointing a knobbly, wrinkled finger towards the blue coloured door. It’s been over 100 years since the Dome was finished, but I bet she was there to see it open, she’s that ancient. I like to think that’s why she gets so defensive when ever someone talks badly about the HLPP.

“Fine” grumbled Martin. I wonder I this is the time he will get expelled? Although, he has done much worse than just rant about inequality. He once punched the P.E. teacher for saying he must be good with a bat, as he’s bound to use one a lot where he comes from. You see, Martin’s family doesn’t come from the ‘high end’ of society, like mine and George’s does. His great grandad barely got into the Dome, so lived in the slums until his son was 18, when they finally got a proper house. The Williams’ family climbed the social ladder slowly but steadily, leading them to finally get enough money to send Martin and his younger sister to a ‘high end’ school, where we met him, and adopted him into our friend group, going from two to three in a matter of minutes. 

He shuffled out of the silent classroom, with a face that screamed ‘I want to kill you’ targeted at the teacher. But Martin can never leave a room angry (a little policy he lives by), so he turned around, gave a small crooked grin and finger-gunned out of the classroom. Mrs Angleson growled angrily, and the class let out a muffled laugh. That boy just couldn’t be serious for more than ten minutes, could he? I have to admit, it is funny, but mate, read the room.

The rest of the lesson went by uneventfully, like it always did when Martin left. Mrs Angleson carried on her drone of things everyone already knows, and I stared out of the window, taking in the sight of the dazzling white and glass buildings blocking the view of the slums behind them. Why doesn’t anyone help them? Who knows. They say there are more important things to worry about.  
I wonder what…

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Did you see how Elsie looked at me, Alex? She smiled!” George sighed, dreamily, not really caring if I answered. 

“Why don’t you just ask her out, already? You’ve been pining for four years now, I bet she’d say yes if you did. It’s annoyingly obvious that you both like each other.”  
“I CAN’T DO THAT, ARE YOU CRAZY?!” George whisper-shouted. “what if you are wrong, and she doesn’t like me that way? I don’t think I could take that, mate.” He itched the back of his head, messing up the back of his neat brown hair.

“you two have so much in common. She looks at you and blushes all the time. She’ll say yes.”

“But... ugh, never mind. It’s not like I’m any different then you and Louise Michel.” He stated with a grin. I felt my face heat up with a blush at the mention of my crush. However, before I could respond, I felt a strong hand press into my shoulder, almost pushing me over.

“Hey guys! Guess who’s not expelled!” Martin interrupted running up to us and inserting himself to stand in the middle of us. I looked at him and sighed.  
“Don’t take this the wrong way Mart, but how?” I asked, shaking my head in disbelief.

“I’m good with words!” He said, smugly.

“what could you have possibly said to stop Mr Winsor from expelling you? This is what? Your eighth time in the last month you’ve been sent to him?” George asked.  
“Just the truth, my friend.” Martin grinned, playfully.

“knowing you, that is means a huge lie.” I stated.

“You know me so well.”

Knowing Martin, he probably annoyed Mr Winsor into letting him stay. He knows how hard his parents worked to get him here, and he doesn’t want to screw that up, so quickly learned how to manipulate situations into however he needs it to be. He’s good at speaking, and can persuade anyone to do anything, if he knows what makes them tick, and he is definitely good at finding that out.

“Well, on another note, where are we going for lunch?” George asked, “canteen or outside?”

“well, I forgot my lunch, so I vote canteen.” I added.

“Yeah, I don’t have lunch either…” stated Martin, his eyes darting around in their sockets.

“How is it that I am the only competent one in this group? You two always forget your lunch.” Sighed George. He always knows what he’s doing. Always up early. Always on time. Whereas I barely have time to get dressed in the morning. It’s lucky I only live ten minutes away from school. 

Suddenly, Martin grabbed the taller boy and put him in a headlock, play wrestling and messing up his hair. “Well, not all of us have a butler to wake us up in the morning, eh Alex?” I nodded, with a small laugh. He always did this. It’s playful, Martin is just a bit hyperactive. And vicious.

“for the last time, Mart, I don’t have a butler. I’m just organised.” George wrestles himself out of the headlock, straightening his fringe back into place.

“All right, Groden, no need for that tone!” he gave off a little laugh to show his sarcasm. Like we couldn’t tell already. “Now, go find us a table while we go get food.” He commanded with authority.

“See you in a min, and don’t stare at Elsie, its creepy!” I called after him, making sure only we could hear, but loud enough to sound like others could hear.  
“Shut up, Peterson.”

Martin and I got in line and got our food, chatting about nothing in particular. When we finally got our food and wondered over to the corner where George had set up camp. We found him staring fondly at Elsie Brown and her friends, including a particular Louise Michel, who had recently caught my eye. However, I am a lot subtler then George, and make sure there is no way any of her friends saw me staring. Anyway, I know I don’t have a shot with her, she definitely doesn’t know I exist. I’m too quiet and she is too popular. Anyway, it’s only a crush. It will go away…

Anyway! Back to stalker George!

“George! What did I tell you? Don’t stare at Miss Brown, or your creep stats will skyrocket to oblivion!” 

He jumped in surprise at my sudden voice in his ear, squeaking quietly. “Shut up Alex, I wasn’t staring.”

“For once in your life, Mr Groden, you are incorrect. You were indeed, staring at Elsie Brown.” Martin stated in his typical game-show host voice.

“Shut up Martin.” George glared at us both, his bright green eyes burrowing into our heads, as if he was trying to explode our heads. “Anyway, have either of you seen Alice Tuner, or Tom Burner today? They weren’t in chemistry. I had to make sodium chloride by myself.”

“George, you’re already salty, why do you need to make more?” Martin asked, teasingly. George threw a ball of tinfoil from his sandwich at him, hitting Martin in the nose.

“First of all: good shot, second of all: Rude!”

“To answer your question, no, I haven’t seen them today. It’s not like them to miss school.” I stated. I hadn’t really thought about it until now… Weird…

“People miss school, it’s nothing to worry about. Everyone misses a day of school at some point in their life, even rich nerds like Alice and Tom.” Martin stated matter-of-factually.

“What does being rich have to do with anything?” George looked at Martin expectantly, eyebrow raised.

“It’s just that rich parents tend to care more about their kids’ education. If I missed a day of school, I wouldn’t be that bad, but if you,” he waved an accusing finger at the brown-haired boy. “missed a day, your parents would go ape.”

“Maybe so, but not all are like that.”

“Whatever. So, what’s everyone doing tonight?” Martin asked, quickly changing the subject.

“Mum and dad are taking me to the fundraiser tonight. It’s going to be so boring, who needs a fundraiser for a top range magazine? What do they need the money for? Better ink?” I hate these fundraisers, it’s just me, mum, dad, and a bunch of eighty-year-old rich people for hours on end. 

“Is this one at least in an interesting place?” George asked. “you could take your camera, make some cool edits later.”

“I might just do that. It’s in this old building that used to be a bank, but now it has a cool rooftop garden that supplied food in the early days of the Dome, and old corridors that would look great for an apocalypse scene.”

“Sounds cool, I can’t wait to see your latest creations.” Martin leaned in to emphasize his excitement.

George and Martin weren’t doing anything tonight, so decided to video call each other, and the rest of lunch went by pretty averagely. When the bell sounded, we wondered to our respective classes, and nothing exciting happened. The only remotely interesting thing that happened is that I got an A on my English paper, although a lot of the students were whispering to each other, looking worried.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

By the final bell, I’d had enough, and just wanted to go home, but the looming boredom of the fundraiser drenched my thoughts and I was considering just faking illness so I didn’t have to go, but my mum would see right through that. Anyway, I wanted to take pictures of the building, so I may as well just go.  
As I walked out of the classroom, a buzz of nervous chatter sounded by the surrounding students as they whispered to each other. What is this about? Probably just another fight between students. I just walked past them all and stopped at my locker. George and Martin were waiting for me there, muttering to each other, each with a worried expression on their faces.

“Hey, what’s up? Why is everyone so worried?”

“You haven’t heard?” Martin asked, in an abnormally quiet voice.

“Of course not, Martin, or I wouldn’t be asking, would I?” I said sarcastically.

“There’s no need for that,” said George. “Especially in this situation.”

“What’s going on?”

“Alice and Tom are missing. They left for school this morning and never turned up.” George explained.  
“It’s not just them either. Three other kids from different schools have gone missing too.” Martin stated.

“Oh my… is there any more information, like, do they know where they are?”

“What part of ‘missing’ do you not understand?” questioned George.

“There’s no need for that. I was just asking.”

“I’m worried, this isn’t normal. These things don’t just happen in the Dome. With the amount of kids disappearing, this quickly, something is definitely up.” Martin loves to think up conspiracies. When ever something mysterious happens, it is automatically the government doing something dodgy, whether it be kidnapping children, or keeping information about the outside world. He seems to think that there are people out there. Yeah right, that’s not possible. The radiation would have killed them all by now.

“Is there some sort of link? Like, are their parent’s government officials or something?” I questioned.

“No. all from different backgrounds, classes, everything is slightly different.” Answered Martin.

“It’ll just be a coincidence. Not everything is some governmental conspiracy.” George hates his theories. He’s too logical, and most of them just don’t make a lot of sense. 

“Yeah, it’ll be nothing. The missing kids will turn up and everything will be fine. There’s no need to worry.” I hope I sounded as convincing as I wanted, because this is definitely something to worry about. 

We walked out of the school in silence, only to be confronted by my dad standing outside of his Range Rover. He held his natural serious look on his stubbled face. His black suit blended in with the car he leant on.

“Alex, Boys. Get in the car, I’m taking you home.” My father greeted us.

“Hello Mr Peterson.” George always greeted adults with that much respect.

“Hey.” Martin, on the other hand, greeted everyone the same way.

We climbed into the car and dad started to drive to Martin’s house. Martin and George were silent as dad explained where we were going tonight and told me who was going to be there, including the prime minister, John McLain. No one cares dad, shut up.

“-So, make sure you dress your best, Alex. We want to make a good impression on Mr McLain.” 

“Ok dad. I’ll try my best, but he’ll probably not see me, I’m just going to stay for a few minutes and then roam the place taking pictures.”

“I know, it’s just in case. I think you’d like him though, he’s a nice guy. I’ll introduce you early on, so you can do your own thing the rest of the night. Martin, here’s your stop.”

“Thanks, Mr Peterson.” Martin said, while climbing out of the car.

“See you, Mart!” I called after him.

“Talk to you later Martin.” Called George.

We drove to George’s house and made small conversation. We got to his house in a matter of minutes and silence fell upon the car. We stayed that way for ten minutes, until dad broke it.

“So, I bet you are wondering why I picked you up today.”

“Is it something to do with the missing kids?”

He hesitated until he finally muttered quietly “Yes.”

“There’s no need to worry, dad. I’ll be fine. The other two as well. We’ll be careful.”

“I know you will. I just wanted to make sure today.”

“Thanks, dad.”

As the conversation ended, we pulled up into our driveway. Our large, white stone house peered into view. We climbed out of the car and collected our bags. We wondered into the house and dad told me to get ready for the fundraiser and we were leaving in an hour. I went upstairs and entered my messy room. I found a new white shirt, black trousers, and black blazer, with my leather belt and dress shoes. I scanned for a tie somewhere in the room, and I located my purple and blue striped one hanging on the back of my desk chair. Once I had changed, I gathered my new camera, phone, and headphones, putting them in my blazer pockets. It is lucky cameras are so thin now, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to fit it anywhere.

After an hour, and after mum had given me a small meal to eat before we left, we went to the venue before any of the guests got there. We helped the workers set up, moving tables and chairs, and I went for a walk around the atrium. The room was at least a hundred feet tall, and seventy feet wide. It was decorated with old fashioned paintings in between gold coloured arches. The ceiling was painted with different scenes from history, starting with the beginning of the nuclear war, up until the last few people moving into the dome. The cars look so old, with wheels. It’s odd. Car rides must have been so bumpy with those things.  
After half an hour of waiting, people started turning up, wearing all sorts of fancy suits and colourful dresses. Let the fundraiser begin!


	2. That's Not What you Want to Happen at a Fundraiser

Many people turned up after the first half hour. Dad made me stay until John McLain turned up. He said he would introduce me, we could talk for a few minutes, and then I was allowed to look around. 

After another ten minutes, Mr McLain finally arrived, escorted by three buff guards, all at least six foot five, and all wearing black suits and dark shaded. They each had buzz cuts and clean-shaven faces. Mr McLain was a shorter man, of around five foot eleven, with dirty-blond hair and oak brown eyes, that seemed to gather information with just a simple look. He looked kind, smiling at everyone, and he didn’t walk with and obvious ‘I’m-better-then-you-and-I-know-it’ walk, more like, ‘I may be important, but you are too’ sort of walk. I like that in my world leaders. But his seamed forced, and I didn’t fully trust him. However, dad loved Mr McLain, and he ushered me towards him to introduce me. 

“Mr McLain, it’s so good to see you. I’m happy you could come.” He took McLain’s hand and shook it with vigour, gaining a look from the guards. “This is my son, Alex. He wants to work in politics when he’s older.” No, I don’t. I want to be a photographer. Just because I have an interest in it doesn’t mean I want to work in that field.

“Oh, you do, do you?” he asked, looking intrigued. He held out his hand for me to shake and I accepted.  
“Apparently.” 

“Well, it’s a hard business to get into, but if you work hard enough, you can get to where I am today.”

Where you are today? You mean attending random fundraisers, so you can scrape as many votes as possible? I don’t think so. But, I nodded in agreement, not wanting to seem rude, as this is important to my dad.

“So, where do you go to school?”

“Minister May’s high school, sir.”

“Ah, that was my old school. We have a lot in common, you and I. maybe in the summer I can mentor you, to prepare you for the future?”

“Maybe.” I nodded. He seemed way to eager to recruit some fifteen-year-old kid to work, and I didn’t trust it. There was an awkward silence between us for a minute, until my dad finally spoke.

“Well, Alex, I’m sure Mr McLain wouldn’t mind if you went and explored a bit.”

“Oh of course not! Go have fun, while you still can!”

Well that was vaguely threatening. “Thank you. I’ll see you.”

As I walked off, I pulled my camera out of my pocket and decided where I was going to go. It was either the rooftop garden, or the long corridors. After a bit of thinking and walking around the giant room, I decided to go to the garden first, and go wonder corridors later.

I walked out of the atrium and up the grand staircase to the garden. I exited the building through large glass doors onto the garden. Surrounding me, there was a huge mass of green bushes, dotted with brightly coloured flowers of blue, purple, yellow and orange. The orange ones really caught my eye. They were so bright, they seemed to glow in the dark light of the night. They were almost radioactive in colour, and their smell was overpowering. I noticed that the petals had subtle black lines, like rivers, etching their way down to the centre of the flower. They were the perfect centre to my scene. I crouched down and started taking pictures. Each picture had a different angle, a different point of view, or a different distance. I photographed the arboreal arches and overgrown paths cut into the sides of the garden. I easily spent an hour up there, just taking in the sights of the beautiful rooftop garden. Places like this are scarce these days. Gardens are hard to maintain in the dome’s environment, as the air is filtered, and the weather is always dry, with there being no rain and all.

After another hour of photographing the garden, I headed back down the grand staircase and in the direction of the hallways. They were fifty feet long, and forty feet high, with beautiful golden arches on top of silken white marble blocks. The ceiling was decorated with all the colours of the sky. The entrance to the hall was covered in a light blue with white splashes, and as the room went on, the colour got darker, ending in an inky black dotted with white stars. It was perfect.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As I walked down the grand corridor, I aimed my camera at the far side, making sure I captured all of the tiny details on the walls and colourful ceiling and marble floor. I got to the end of the hallway and was confronted by a simple, oak door, precariously placed between the wall and the final arch. There was nothing marking the entrance, telling me what was inside, and curiosity took over. I put my camera back in my pocket and jiggled the brass handle, until a small click sounded from the lock. I turned the handle and pushed the door open. Inside was a dark room, covered in shadow. I felt around for a light switch, but found nothing, so I reached into my pocket, fished out my phone, and turned on the torch. I walked into the room and scanned my surroundings. The wall was covered by a large, oaken bookcase, filled with old, leather books. Next to it was soft looking arm chair. Suddenly, a hard bang of wood on doorframe sounded from behind me. Someone had closed the door. I whipped around to see who it was, when a heavy force knocked into me, pinning me to the ground. A large, booted foot pushed down on my stomach, pinning me to the ground. The figure covered my mouth with his huge, beefy hand, muffling my panicked scream. Just then, a voice sounded from above me.

“Quick, pass the Chlorahide. I want to get this over with before anyone sees.” The voice was gruff and deep. If I could see the person’s face, I’m sure it would be big and menacing. Wait, Chlorahide? What’s Chlorahide? I can’t remember, why don’t I listen in chemistry?

“Here. The boss will be angry if we’re not quick.” A slightly higher voice sounded from the door. I heard a cloth being caught above me as I struggled to get away. The hand covering my mouth was quickly replaced by a wet cloth. The smell was sweet and inviting but restricted my breathing. I continued to struggle and fight for my freedom, but the mysterious man didn’t budge.

My fighting slowed, and I started to lose consciousness. Now I remember what Chlorahide is, it’s a knock-out drug! Wait, why am I celebrating that?

The last thing I heard was the higher voice speak.

“Come on, lets get out of here.”

My vision went dark, and I blacked out.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I gained some consciousness after who knows how long. I felt a cold, hard wall vibrating on my back. Were we in a car? No… a van? It must be, as I wasn’t on a seat, and sitting facing a wall instead of windows. There was a carpet underneath me, but was hard and uncomfortable. I was still drowsy, and I felt like I was slipping out of consciousness again. 

“Make sure the kid doesn’t wake up. The boss wants them far away before they do.” It was the higher voice from earlier. He sounded like he was in front of me, probably driving the van.

“I know mate, he’s not waking up for a few hours now. I made sure of that.” What is with the subtle threats today?

“Good. We can’t afford another screw up. Seriously, another mistake and we have the same fate as the kid.” 

Well that’s not good.

Once again, I lost consciousness.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke up once again. This time, I had enough energy to open my eyes slightly, I managed to see that I was surrounded by wooden crates, and my hands and feet were tied with zip-chords. ‘well, this is uncomfortable.’ I thought. ‘Where am I?’

I looked up slightly, and saw a large man slouched against the opposite wall of the van. This must be the deep voice that tackled me. He had a shaved head and huge muscles, and he was wearing a white tank top, blue jeans, and a blue jacket with a small logo on the breast pocket. I couldn’t quite make out what it was…  
It was still dark outside, but the surroundings weren’t familiar. There were trees surrounding the road, and there were no buildings anywhere to be seen. There was also a looming threat in the air. It didn’t seem safe where we were, but that may be because I had just been kidnapped, but well, who knows?

“Mike! Wake up, it’s time to switch!” 

The one called Mike yawned. “Midnight already?”

wait what? Midnight? Where are we going at midnight? 

“Yeah, but there’s only two hours left ‘till we get there.”

“And four hours back.”

“Stop being so cynical. We’ll be home by six, and finally get some sleep. Anyway, the next trip isn’t until next month.”

I couldn’t hear the rest of their conversation because I passed out once again. This time, I dreamt about Louise Michel. Just the average dream, us being together. She’s so great.

But, sadly, the nice things never last, because I woke up very suddenly, feeling a sharp and sudden pain in my side, as someone kicked me in the ribs to wake me up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're enjoying the story.


	3. A Stranger Explains Nothing, Despite My Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex meets a mysterious stranger and starts his journey.

“Hey. Wake up.” A harsh, feminine voice sounded from above me. I groaned in response. That kick really hurt! The person sighed and muttered something that sounded like “useless Domer.” Excuse me, what?

I heard a shuffling next to me. Suddenly, my legs started to shake a little, then the tension around my ankles loosened, as a soft snap indicated my bounds had been broken. At this point, my vision had started to reappear. I looked around, searching for the owner of the voice. My eyes landed on a figure to my left, shrouded by the morning light behind them. The person had a feminine figure and short, choppy hair that spiked out in a messy style. She bent down took my wrists, while sliding a cold, metal blade in-between my arms. I felt the same subtle shake and loosening in my arms, and the girl dropped them back onto my chest and walked away. I stretched my muscles and pushed myself into a sitting position. My eyes adjusted to the morning light, and I looked around, scanning my surroundings.

I appeared to be in a dirty, rundown street, dotted with run down, empty shops. The buildings were covered in ivy and other creeper plants I couldn’t name. The vines and flowers poked out of the crumbling red bricks, rubble gathered on the floor, collected from years of casual crumbling. Where ever I was, it clearly hadn’t been kept for a long time. There were plants and weeds growing from the pavements and road, but the most confusing and strange part of the scenery was the random assortment of wooden crates of different sizes dotted around the street. Some were broken into strips of wood; the contents having been taken out, some were tipped onto their sides, and some still had lids sitting on the tops.

The mysterious girl was leaning into on of the larger boxes, her brown boots lifted into the air, so she could reach the contents of the box. She was wearing baggy, black hiking trousers with two large pockets on the thighs, with tatty, brown leather hiking boots tightly laced to her feet. An army green, battered jacket, again with multiple large pockets dotting the front, grazed her upper-thigh and looked so old that it was as if it had been used by multiple people before she had even touched it. She had a grey, tatty back pack tightly strapped to her back. Before I could even attempt stand, she kicked her legs down and planted her booted feet on the floor, dragging herself up, while holding as many silver bags of an unknown contents as she could carry. She stood at her full height, at around five-foot-three, as an estimate, a few inches shorter than me. The girl dropped the bags on the floor and unslung her bag. She zipped it open and shoved the silver bags into the main compartment.

Now I could see her whole body, she appeared to be wearing a light green tee-shirt under the long, baggy jacket. She had rolled up the sleeves of the jacket, giving them a thick, white cuff, just grazing the bottom of her hands. Her shaggy, jaw-length hair appeared to be a dark ginger colour, with a messy, roughly cut style, as if she had cut it herself. Her choppy fringe hung down, partly covering the top half of her face. I could see her pale face positioned in a frown, as she stared down at her bag, organising the contents, in order to put as much as she could in. she finally managed to fit it all in and stood up, wandering towards another crate, leaving her bag where it was.

This one was smaller then the last one and had a green cross on each side. I assume it meant it contained something other then silver bags. She looked inside and sighed. I heard her mutter softly to herself. Something about there not being enough? I decided to call out to her.

“Hey, who are you? Where are we?”

She jumped slightly at my sudden words, yet didn’t respond further, or even turn to look in my direction. Is she ignoring me? The girl started fishing out small, plastic, yellow boxes and piled them in her arms. Once she couldn’t hold any more, she walked back to her still open bag, making sure to keep her head down and for her hair to cover her face. She crouched down and shoved the boxes into the compartment and zipped up the bag. Slinging the bag onto her back, she started to walk away. Ok now she’s just being rude. I struggled to my feet, stumbling slightly as I straightened my back, my spine clicking as I did. I called out to her as I started to stumble forwards.

“Hey, come back!”

This time she acknowledged me. She kind of had to, as I tripped, and landed right on top of her, pushing her to the ground. A slight ‘oof’ sounded from her as we hit the ground. I propped myself on my hands while apologising to her.

“Sorry, I’m so sorry!”

“I’ll believe you when you get off me.” Her voice was threatening. Well, as threatening as it could be in a situation like this.

“Sorry!”

I rolled off her and onto my back, immediately sitting up and looking at her as she stood up and brushed the dust off her front. She looked down at me with a scowl on her face, but despite the angry expression, I couldn’t help but be amazed by her features. She was a subtle kind of beautiful. Her pale skin was dotted with light freckles across her button nose, her eyebrows were knitted in a V-shape, expressing her distaste for me having fallen on her. Her face looked thin, her cheekbones clearly visible, but not in a healthy way, more like a ‘I haven’t eaten in days’ sort of way. But despite the annoyance resting in her bright eyes, the colour, or should I say colours, of her eyes distracted me from everything. On her right, her eye glistened a dazzling, sapphire blue, slightly darker then my own eyes. On her left, her iris sparkled the colour of an amber crystal in the midday sun, reminding me of the orange flowers from the night before. This got me wondering if it glowed in the dark like they did. I didn’t know you could get orange eyes, and multicoloured heterochromia is pretty rare, especially when one colour isn’t a normal eye colour.

Finally, after a few seconds of us staring at each other, the girl spoke up.

“What do you want from me? These supplies are mine.” Her face got closer to me as she spoke, as if the emphasise her aggression. Her voice was quiet, but still harsh, now, as if she was scared something (or someone) would hear her.

“Okay, there’s no need for that tone. I just want answers.” I said, matter-of-factually. “also, maybe a little help? Unless that’s an inconvenience to you, your majesty.”

I said the last bit in my most sarcastic tone possible, so clearly this girl had either never heard sarcasm, or was just ignoring me, as she stared blankly at me, until she final spoke.

“Oh, it is Domer.” Okay, never mind. she was just ignoring me. She sighed and held out her hand. “But clearly, you’ll die on your own, and you need me, so you can come with me, on one condition. You have to shut up until we get to my base. Is that clear?”

I took her hand and let her pull me up. I nodded in agreement, not wanting her to yell at me if I responded verbally. This girl was strangely intimidating, even with her tiny stature. “Good. Now come on.” She started walking off, and I stumbled after her.

I struggled to keep up with the still mysterious girl, and she was clearly annoyed by this, as she turned to face me, her heterochronic eyes shooting daggers into my soul. Seriously, does she have other emotions other than anger?

“well come on! Do you want to be killed or something? What’s taking so long?”

I responded in a hushed tone, matching hers. “Oh, I’m sorry, is my barely mobile body annoying you?” Seriously, what kind of question is that? Also, note to self, get better at insults.

“A little, yes.” She cupped her head in her hands and sighed. She then looked at me with an expression that I couldn’t figure out. It was a mixture of (once again) annoyance, fear, and awareness, as if part of her concentration was on something else. “But we need to get to safety, and you clearly can’t walk on your own. We’ll get back quicker if I help you. But just so you know, this is not a peace offering. I still don’t trust you, I just need to get home, and you are obviously not leaving me alone, so just… accept that we’re not friends. Okay?”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever.” I rolled my eyes at her defensiveness. I found it funny, like I would want to be friends with someone as rude as her. She sounded like a kid who was forced to work with someone she didn’t like for a school project.

She walked up to me and scanned me up and down, looking for a way to assist me in the art of walking. She seemed to find this hard, as she looked up, seeming to calculate the extra inches I held over her.

“I suggest I just put my arm over your shoulders and put some weight on you. That’s how helping usually works.” I stated, sarcastically.

“Oh, haha.” She fake laughed at my comment and placed my arm over her shoulder. Within a single second, she started walking and dragged me along with her. We walked a winding path to the girls ‘base’. There seemed to be no one else here, as the streets were over grown and unkept, the only sound being the light breeze through the leaves of plants. This raises the question: what was the girl so worried about, if there is no one there? And what could kill us out here?

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We walked for about ten minutes. We seemed to get nowhere, but I guess she knew where she was going, because she didn’t stop, and just kept trudging forward, dragging me along with her. We carried on like this for another five minutes, and finally found ourselves at the base of large, crumbling, red sand-stone stairs, leading up a giant hill, towards a giant brownish-red building. It looked magnificent. As tall as the houses of parliament, and as long as one hundred buses. I couldn’t see any detail, but at this distance, the giant windows looked beautiful and reflective in the rising sun.

“Just saying, I don’t know if I can carry you up these stairs. You are seriously heavy, Domer.”

I scowled down at her. What is her problem? I’m not that heavy!

“Fine, I feel better anyway.” I took my arm back from the girl, and immediately started to climb the stairs. However, I was not as prepared as I thought I was. After the first three steps, my legs buckled, and I collapsed on the floor with enough force, I could feel my chest bruising slightly in the shape of stairs.

I heard the girl snigger from behind me.

“Oh, yeah, you definitely have this.” She had a small smile on her face as she repressed a laugh.

“Oh, shut up.”

She helped me up, and we carefully climbed the crumbling stairs. After five minutes of climbing and stumbling, we finally reached the top of the stairs, and my breath was taken away by the beautiful sight that was the enormous building.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The building looked like a giant church. The stained-glass windows depicted different Bible scenes; the last supper, the birth if Jesus, and many more I couldn’t name if you paid me. There were cracks and holes in the glass panes, and vines and plants shooting through weak points in the framed and glass. Ivy ran up the walls of the church, giving it an aged and unkept look, like the rest of the buildings we passed. This place sort of looked like the Anglican Cathedral in Liverpool. Or at least, how the pictures looked. Anyway, I can’t be in Liverpool, that place was destroyed in the war, along with everything else. This must just be a copy.

I turned to look at my saviour, but she was nowhere to be seen. I looked around for her, and spotted her twenty feet in front of me, lifting a loose bit of wire mesh covering a grand iron gate in the doorway. She ducked through the hole and walked out of sight. I lightly jogged over to the gate and copied her actions. After tripping and falling into the large doorway, I looked up to find the girl bent over the handle to the giant, oak doors, fiddling with something hidden in front of her. I wondered over to stand next to her and peered over her shoulder. A chain was wrapped around the large, iron handles, and locked with a padlock the size of my hand. She was picking at the lock with two pieces of thin metal with intense concentration. Within seconds, a small click sounded from the lock, and she unhooked it from the chain, dragging it along with the lock. She opened the door and entered, waiting for me to follow on the other side. After I entered, she closed the doors and looped the chain around the handles on this side. She walked ahead of me and gestured for me to follow her as she turned and to the left.

Well. This is going to be an experience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> do you like this stranger? she seems kinda rude, but don't worry, you'll learn to like her.  
> remember to check out my tumblr: https://nuclearalexp.tumblr.com/  
> you can talk to me on there, so please tell me how you're liking the story.


	4. I Get Some Answers

As I walked into the ginormous room, I took in my surroundings. I was standing in the centre of a long and tall room, lit by nothing but the sun shining through the broken windows. There were long, wooden benches (pews, I think they’re called?) lined up in messy rows facing the right-hand wall, where a small camp had been set up. On the left appeared to be an old shop, selling leaflets about the church, (no, cathedral) as well as small statues of spindly birds and something that looked like a mix of a sheep and a banana. Weird assortment of object, but who am I to judge?

The girl seemed to be walking towards the makeshift camp on the right, so I followed. As I walked up the aisle, all I could imagine was if this was a functioning church, and it was me and Louise up at the top…

Stop, Alex, this is weird! You don’t even know if you’re getting home! And you’re not even dating! Weirdo…

Despite my strange and stalkerish daydreams, I took in the fact that some of the pews had items thrown onto them. One had a random assortment of clothes; tee-shirts, trousers, other clothing items. Another bench had a pile of empty silver bags, that I now noticed had white labels and coloured stickers on one side, most likely indicating the contents. Other benches held random items, like planks of wood, notebooks, blankets, and other random survival items, like matches and balls of string.

The ‘camp’, that had been set up on the raised alter, was nothing much to look at. It contained a thin, battered mattress, covered by a threadbare, blue blanket with a single, small pillow at the top. Next to the so called ‘bed’, lay a half empty bottle of water, a sketchbook, two pencils, and a pencil sharpener. To the left of the ‘bed’, a kitchen area had been set up. The bowl used for baptisms had been filled with water, that I am going to assume was not blessed, with a small bottle of soap propped on the edge. A small campfire had been set up, with a wire grate and metal pot laying precariously on top. A small stack of plastic plates and cutlery sat next to the unlit fire. 

In short, the ‘base’ was the worst place I could possibly imagine living. It was so simple and bare, I have no idea how this girl doesn’t go insane every day.  
But, honestly, the worst part about this place was the clear absence of other people. There was no evidence to support others ever being here. Everything seemed to be so… plain.

Was she here alone?

She seemed to be no older then me, so she had to be around 15, so she can’t be alone.

Can she?

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was snapped out of my thoughts at the sudden noise of a bag being dropped to the floor. The girl started to tip out the contents onto the bed and started sorting through the foil bags. She organised them by the coloured stickers and placed them into piles. After she had finished, she took them to the pew with the foil bags on and spread them out so there was space between them. After she had finished, she wondered back to the bed and picked up the yellow boxes. She walked over to the nearest pew and piled them neatly onto the seat.

After this, she walked over to the mattress and sat down, looking at me, expectantly. After I did nothing but stare for a few seconds, she beckoned me to join her. I awkwardly sat down, cross legged, as far away from her as I could. I didn’t want to invade her personal space as much as I already was.

“So… you live here?” I asked, like I didn’t already know.

“No, I just broke into someone else’s home.” There’s something other them annoyance; sarcasm.

There was a few seconds silence, until I finally asked another question. “Well… who are you? As in, like, what’s your name? Also, where are we?”

Ok, there may have been more than one question.

“Oh, Domer. What gives you the right to know who I am?” Wow. This is going to be hard. 

“I just want to know who saved me.” She hesitated at this. I could almost see her brain whirling around, trying to make sense of the situation.

“What’s your name, first?” She answered, with an interrogating stare from her beautiful, multicoloured eyes.

“My name is Alex Peterson. Also, why do you keep calling me ‘Domer’? what does that mean?”

“Wow, you ask a lot of questions. Well, my name is Ginn.”

“Do you have a last name?” I asked, slowly, kind if afraid to ask.

“My last name is unimportant.” She stated. Then, before I could even open my mouth, she changed the subject. “About why I keep calling you Domer, its because you’re from the Dome. It’s just a word to describe where you’re from, like Scouser, but it can also be used as an insult.”

“How could you tell I’m from the Dome? And if your calling me that, are we not in the Dome?” I was starting to panic now. If Ginn has a word for people in the Dome, that must mean we’re not there. If not, where are we?

“I could tell because of your clothes. Not very fit for survival, especially with that thing around your neck.” She gestured to the tie around my neck, somehow still almost perfect. Wait, did she not know what a tie was? “Another clue was your eyes. They’re the same colour. As for your second question, no. we’re not in the Dome. We’re in Liverpool."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was at that moment I started to panic a little.

“WHAT!!” I yelled, jumping up so quickly that the mattress shook and Ginn fell backwards onto the floor. “How in the world did I end up in Liverpool?!”  
Ginn propped herself up onto her hands and looked at me, analysing my body language as if deciding what to do. Finally, she spoke, raising an eyebrow. “I assumed you would know the details, but all I could think of was that you were taken here against your will.”

She said this so calmly, it made me relax slightly. Yet her tone and demeaner were not enough to completely calm me. She annoyed me a little as it seemed she wasn’t taking the situation as seriously as I’d like.

“Well obviously, Ginn. But why Liverpool? Why was I taken? Wait. Others disappeared yesterday. What if they’re here, too?” I spoke quickly and hopefully, clasping my hands together, as if I was begging Ginn to say ‘yes, they are all here, they’ll be out in a minute they were hiding to surprise you.’

“I doubt it. There’s not many people here, and supplies only ever come once a month, and you were the only one with it all. I certainly haven’t seen any other Domers wondering around. And believe me, I would know if the van had come before.”

What is it with her and the word ‘Domer’? and what does she mean? How would she know?

“And I would assume Liverpool because it’s far away from London, so it’ll be hard for you to get back. Also, I would assume you were taken because you’re high up? People would notice if you disappeared?”

She is really good at reading people. She’s really calming, too, which is weird, considering she was so defensive earlier.

“I guess, yeah. But why would they want people to notice?” I put my head in my hands and sighed. “This makes no sense.”

“You got that right.” Ginn climbed back onto the mattress. “But right now, the important thing is you getting back. Because you can’t stay here.”

“I know. This place is a dump.” I said, looking around. “No offence, of course.”

“Well, I’m sure your place isn’t that great either.” She replied, looking slightly offended.

To be honest, my room probably isn’t any better then this place. At least Ginn organises her stuff. And folds her clothes. And puts her rubbish away. Actually, maybe this place is better than my room.

“Okay, so how am I getting home?”

“How am I supposed to know?” she looked confrontational, as if daring me to say otherwise.

“I don’t know… I just thought because… you know, you live out here…” I hesitantly answered, “I assumed you would know…”

She snorted in response, shaking her head. “I know my way around here, but anything outside the city, I know nothing.”

“We could get a map. Do you know anywhere that sells them?”

She didn’t respond and just stared at me blankly. “Okay, I have multiple questions.”

What is there to question? What is confusing about what I said?

“Excuse me?”

“first of all, sell?”

I looked at her in disbelief. “What do you mean ‘sell’? What’s so confusing?”

“I don’t know what you mean. Those words mean nothing to me.” She said with a confused expression. How can they not have meaning? They are two of the most basic things a person can know about!

“You don’t know what selling is?”

“Clearly not, or I wouldn’t be asking.” I looked at her in disbelief.

“Well, selling is when you exchange an object, or food, or whatever, for money.”

She blinked in confusion. “I have one more question.”

“Ok, what’s tripping you up?”

“First of all, what’s a map? Second of all, money?”

How on Earth does she not now what money is? And if she’s all about survival and stuff, how does she not know what a map is? I am pretty sure they are a very important.

“Well, a map is a picture, I guess, of an area telling you where things are. They’re hard to explain.” Wow, describing things is a lot harder than you’d originally think, “And money is very hard to explain. It’s kind of an object that is worth different amounts, and you can exchange it for stuff. Hang on I should have some on me, as long as my kidnappers decide to rob me as well.”

I patted down my suit jacket, looking for bumps indicating something hidden in the pockets. I found three items; my wallet, my camera, and my phone. I wonder if it has charge, I can try to call my parents, tell them where I am!

“What is all of that?” Ginn looked dumbfounded, as if she had never seen anything like this. Her expression reminded me of a baby when you play ‘peak-a-boo’: confused, yet excited.

I gestured to each item as I listed them. “That is my camera, wallet, and my phone. Look in my wallet, there should be money in there.” I attempted to turn on my phone. Sadly, it didn’t work, meaning I had to get to the Dome by myself. As I did this, Ginn picked up my wallet and searched through it. 

“Well, this seems absolutely worthless.” She tossed the wallet back onto the bed as I picked up the camera. I looked at her and chuckled to myself. I tried to turn on the camera, and this time it actually worked! At least I had something.

“Money may be worthless here, as I assume you just take everything, but it’s worth a lot at home.”

“Sure, seems useful. And what’s that, then?” She waved her hand at the camera in my hands. 

“It’s a camera. You take pictures with it.” I stated, matter-of-factually.

“Pictures like,” she pointed to the notebook and pencil next to the bed, “Drawings?”

So that’s what she does to keep her sanity. I wonder if she’s any good.

“Kind of, they’re not drawn, more printed, if that makes sense? Again, hard to explain.” I thought for a second, then looked at her, “I could show you? It would probably explain it better…”

She made a thinking noise before hesitantly responding. “Sure, show me.”

As I looked around to find something to photograph, I noticed Ginn’s curious expression, and then I got the best idea. “Hey stay like that.”  
I lifted my camera and took a picture. The flash was still on from the night before, startling Ginn and making her blink, trying to regain full vision.

“What was that?” she looked both confused and kind of disgusted.

“I forgot to turn off the flash, it makes the pictures clearer in darker places. Want to see it?”

I shifted towards her and we both looked at the screen as I brought up the picture. Ginn leaned over to look over my shoulder. The screen showed Ginn with an intrigued expression, the flash shining a spotlight onto her, making her orange eye sparkle. This reminded me of the orange flowers from last night. The glow of the radioactive like petals were almost exactly like Ginn’s eye, except the flowers had subtle flecks of black streaking down towards the centre, whereas Ginn’s eye had small flecks of yellow, only noticeable with the bright flash of the camera. Similarly, her blue eye held subtle flecks of a light green, almost yellow. The flask highlighted the messy flicks in her brownish, ginger hair, each layer in the choppy cut visibly ending like steps traveling up towards the top of her head. The amber eye blended in to her choppy fringe, only visible through the slight gap between obvious cuts. Overall, she just looked peaceful and harmless, not at all like the Ginn I had been introduced to. From what I have seen so far, she is the definition of ‘looks like they can kill you, could actually kill you.’

I heard a little exhale of breath from over my shoulder, indicating Ginn’s interest peaking. “That’s weird,” she stated, sitting back down at the corner of the bed. I made a sound of agreement while moving back to my original position at the top of the bed.

“So, you didn’t answer my question. Is there anywhere I can get a map or something?”

She thought for a second, and the stated “There is somewhere nearby that has lots of stuff. You’ll probably find one there.”  
Finally, some good luck!

“Great, could you show me?” I asked, hopefully. “I have no idea where I’m going.”

“Sure.” She stood up and picked up her bag, patting her hip, as if checking for something. “We can get you some proper gear, too. You can’t be walking across England in that.” She gestured to my suit.

“Great.” I stood, and we began to walk out of the cathedral. Maybe I can find out what Ginn was so worried about on the way here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the adventure begins...
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


	5. I Am In Much More Danger Then I Originally Thought

We walked in silence through empty, overgrown streets, the only noise our footsteps, and the creepier sound, occasional growls and shuffling in dark alleyways, in buildings, and behind clumps of long grass and vines. Those noises are what made Ginn visibly tense and move her hand towards her hip. However, she would do this when there was complete silence, too, so maybe she is just paranoid.

As we got further away from the cathedral, we passed street signs pointing in different directions, leading to different locations of interest. They said things like ‘Liver Buildings’ and ‘Lpool One’. Ginn seemed to be taking me in the direction of Lpool One, which I can only assume was once a shopping centre, as when we got closer, more shops appeared within old, colourful buildings. We wondered down a large, stone staircase and turned right into an old sports shop, where Ginn instructed me to get some better trousers for walking long distances, as well as a decent coat or jacket, as the weather is extremely unpredictable out here (whatever that means). As I wondered down the isles of clothes, Ginn watched me with great interest, at first at least. Her face quickly morphed into worry, then annoyance.

“Could you hurry up? It’s not safe to stay in one place too long.” Se scolded me, looking around. “I mean, it’s not like you have something to protect yourself with, unless you count me.”

“What do you mean ‘protect myself’?” I looked at her quizzically. “What would I have to protect myself from?”

Suddenly, a shuffle and a grunt sounded from the next isle. Ginn inhaled, sharply, and brushed her jacket to the side, revealing a knife safely tucked in a leather sheath and clipped in place in the middle of the handle. It had a light brown wooded handle, and the blade appeared to travel down the handle, as the steel was visible in the edge of the wood. One side was indented with finger grooves to hold it correctly. She unclipped and unsheathed the knife, revealing four-inch, single edged blade. She put her finger to her lips, telling me to be quiet, then beckoned me to follow her. We snuck over to the end of the isle and peered into the next, looking for what made the noise.

A tall man, dressed in beige trousers, brown boots, and a black jacket, stood hunched with his back to us. I could see a mane of dark brown, unkept hair falling down his neck. He was breathing heavily, his head twitching and hands fidgeting. He was acting extremely unnatural, like he wasn’t all there in the head. I peered over a bit more, trying to get a better look at him, and my hand slipped, causing a shoe sitting on a shelf on the wall to fall to the ground, making a large bang as it hit the floor. This sudden noise caught the attention of the man. He whipped his head around and looked at us with a crazed expression. His mouth was parted, bearing his teeth aggressively, his nose twitched along with his head, and his eyes, (one dark brown, one red) were dim with lifelessness. His expression screamed with anger and confusion, like he wasn’t sure where he was, and why he as there, but all he knew was we disturbed him, and he didn’t like that.

“Protect you from dangers like that,” Ginn’s voice chimed up from beneath me, her voice wobbled, her face shined with both fear and confidence, like she was trying to hide the fact that she was scared but failing miserably.

At this, the man charged at us at full speed, and Ginn reacted immediately, brandishing her knife and running towards him. The fight scene in front of me was brutal and am ashamed to say that I froze. The man flailed his arms and grasped at Ginn, trying to grab her, but she ducked and dodged his movements gracefully. Every so often, she would slash her knife at his torso and legs, trying to get him down. They both struggled against each other for longer then I expected, Ginn managing to slash through his shirt and cut his stomach, but it didn’t seem to bother him. He didn’t even flinch, or slowdown afterwards. Suddenly, the man grabbed Ginn’s wrists and pushed her, pinning her to the shelving unit. Ginn started to panic, struggling against his grip, trying to wrestle away from him. At this, I unfroze from my paralysis and looked around for something to use as a weapon. I saw a rod of metal that used to be a clothes hanger that had half fallen on the ground. I grabbed the rod and pulled it off the hook. I ran towards the man and hefted the rod. Quickly, I swung the stick of metal at his head with all the force I could muster, hitting him in the back of the neck. He staggered forward, releasing Ginn from his grip. He looked at me as Ginn stood next to me in a ready position, brandishing her knife, the man growled once again and lunged at me, but I reacted quickly and swung my rod, this time aiming for his head. My rod beat the side of his head, making him stagger sideways, and Ginn took this as the perfect moment to grab him by the hair and pull back, exposing his neck to her. Suddenly, she drew her knife up to his neck and dragged it along his throat, slitting is throat in two. Blood started to spill out of the gaping wound and he became motionless. His eyes dimmed even more and rolled to the back of his head. Ginn dropped his head and he flopped to the floor.

Ginn looked up at me and huffed in amusement. I felt my face fold into a shocked expression, my eyes widening at what she had just done. “Well, I guess we know what your weapon is going to be.” She said with a smile.

All I did was stare at her I bewilderment. “What did you just do?” I half shouted.

“I killed him.” She stated matter-of-factually. “obviously.”

“Why couldn’t we just knock him out?!”

“Trust me, it’s better that he’s dead.” She said, sadly. “He wasn’t a person anymore. Well, technically he was, but not mentally. That was the result of the radiation left over, he lost his mind, separating his humanity from his animality. In short, he became an animal like human. Out here we call them Nuclears, to kind of dehumanize them. It makes them easier to kill.” She looked sad while explaining. I wonder why…

“Sorry, I’m still confused. What exactly is going on around here?”

She sighed, sadly. “I promise, I will explain in full later, it’s just a long story and we are kind of in the open. Lets just get you some clothes and a backpack, then we can find you a nice bat and a map.”

I was hesitant, I wanted to know what was going on! Clearly, I just stared at Ginn, expectantly, for a few seconds too long, because suddenly she clicked her fingers in my face, snapping me back into consciousness.  
“Alex, I’m not kidding, we really have to hurry. Just pick some trousers and shoes, and I’ll get you a bat from upstairs. Just hurry.” She spoke in the same hushed tone like from earlier. She shot a warning look at me as she backed away, then jogged around a corner and disappeared, the only evidence proving she was there was the light pitter-patter of her boots on plastic flooring.

I sighed in defeat. I guess, I’ll just have to wait for answers, like I always seem to out here. I guess I don’t really want to stay out here too long, either. That guy was kind of terrifying. I looked at the bloody corpse of the man, and honestly almost threw up. I seriously don’t know why I’m still standing here…

I walked around the abandoned store, still clutching my rod for protection, looking for a pair of comfortable trousers that would be suitable for hiking across England, as well as some sturdy boots. As I reached the opposite end of the shop, I found a small section labelled ‘hiking’, with a few small racks of trousers, shirts, jackets, and a wall of boots, however it was nearly empty, this clearly being the most popular section for survivors.

As I scanned the rails of trousers, looking for my size, my mind started to wonder as I thought about what was going on at home. What are my parents thinking? Do they suspect what happened, or are they in denial? How are George and Martin doing? Do they even know I’m gone? Would my parents just publicly announce that I’m gone, or would they tell only close friends, or anyone at all?

My mind was spiralling down a rabbit hole of worry, and anxiety overwhelmed my senses, as the room started to shrink. I felt dizzy and claustrophobic, my heart was beating faster, and my breathing elevated. The thoughts swirling through my head made me sick. Literally. I threw up behind the rail of pants. I leant on the wall behind me and slid down onto the floor, looking at the ceiling. Would anyone who wasn’t my parents, George, and Martin even care that I’m gone? I’m not the most popular person in the world. Though I am going to be honest, one of the worst things about this that I never got to tell Louise about how I feel about her. That, and the fact that I will probably never see anyone I love ever again.

Well, this sucks on several levels.

It took several minutes for me to regain my senses, and I realised that fat tears were pouring down my face, induced by my sudden panic attack. My hearing came back first, but I mostly just heard a soft buzzing, and a light breathing sound. Wait, breathing? My eyes were closed, and I was terrified to open them again, dreading seeing the blank stare of a guy like from earlier. 

I slowly opened my eyes, grasping my temporary weapon even harder, readying myself for defence. But instead of the blank, emotionless stare of a man without sanity, the sparkling, orange and blue eyes of Ginn stared back at me. She was squatting close to the floor in front of me, her small stature barely taller then me, despite the higher position she held. In her hand, she grasped a navy blue, aluminium rounders bat with a black leather handle. The metal shone in the small light shining through the window on the other side of the giant shop.

“Hey, I got you a bat. I see you didn’t get any closer to getting new clothes.” She still looked worried, but I could tell she was just trying to change the subject from my obvious panic attack. She offered me her hand and said she would help me pick some clothes, because I am clearly incompetent.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Ginn tossed some clothes at me that looked like they would fit, we conversed about what I needed and what I wanted. We settled on a pair of gray trouser with large pockets on the thighs, like Ginn’s pair, and a pair of black, leather boots. 

“I don’t really think I need a new tee-shirt. My shirt is fine.” I said, quietly.

“You sure? That doesn’t look that comfortable.” She gestured to my torso with a quizzical look. “And remember, you’re going to be sleeping in it, too. You have to have the right stuff to stay comfortable.”

“Don’t worry, the material in the Dome is a lot more advanced then this stuff.” I lifted the trousers in my hand to emphasise my point.

“If you say so.” She looked back at the rail of jackets and flipped through them. After a minute of her scanning the rails, she unhooked a dark purple, hooded fleece that matched the colour of my tie. She looked at the jacket and then at me, and threw it at me, saying this is the one for me.

“Put those on, then we can look for a map somewhere. I’m going to look for a bag for you.” She shot a small smile at me and dashed off. I quickly changed into my new pants and shoes, took off my blazer and transferred my phone, wallet, and camera to my pockets. I loosened my tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons of my shirt. I picked up my shiny, new bat and swung it around, getting a feel for the weight and balance. How am I going to carry this around for the next week? I don’t really want to hold it constantly…

“I got a bag.” Ginn rounded the corner holding a black canvas backpack. She looked me up and down, giving a small side smile. “Nice match work there, mate.”

“Hey, you picked this out. I blame you.” I pointed out, taking the bag from her and strapping it to my back after shoving my blazer into the main compartment. “Quick question, how am I supposed to carry this?” I waved the bat in the air, articulating my question.

“I suggest you strap your bag tight on your back, and tuck it between your shoulder blades.” She crossed her arms across her chest. “That’s how people usually do it.” Her voice was mimicking my sarcastic tone from earlier.

“Oh haha.” I smiled, pulling on the straps of the bag, making it tighter. Ginn guided me out of the shop and back into the broken down streets of the ancient shopping centre, while I shoved my bat behind my back.

Ginn turned to me, gesturing to the old shops lining the walls of the enclosed shopping centre. “so, where abouts do you think a map would be?”

I pondered the question, trying to think of what type of place may have a complete map of Britain, but before I could answer, a loud, grizzly groan sounded from around a nearby corner. We both tensed and looked at each other, concern spreading across my face, as Ginn unclipped her knife in preparation.

“Should we go?” I muttered softly to Ginn. She looked at me with warning eyes and open her mouth, no doubt to tell me to shut up. However, before she could speak, a shuffle and groan hit our ears, and another Nuclear, this time a blonde woman with yellow and green eyes, burst out from a patch of long, thick plants and stared at us, menacingly, head twitching, and hands flexing at her side. Before I could even reach for my bat or (drop to the floor crying), I felt a slim hand grab my wrist and pull me away.

“Come on, quick!” She led us down the long street in a quick sprint and rounded the corner. I looked over my shoulder and saw the Nuclear running after us, along with two others who had joined in on the chase.

I picked up my pace, running up next to Ginn. Scanning the area for a place to hide, my eyes landed on a small building, with a blue sign with white and red writing, saying ‘Scouse Souvenirs’. The front window was bordered up, and the front door slightly ajar. 

“Quick, in here!” I pulled Ginn sideways, pulling open the door of the shop and slamming it shut. Ginn looked startled at my sudden take over, and at the fact that I basically flung her into a dark room and slammed the door. However, her face morphed into an impressed expression.

“Good thinking, Domer. I’m surprised.” She looked around the dark shop and huffed. “This is a good spot to hide in.”

Nodding, I looked around the room myself, and my eyes landed on a wire stand in the corner, next to the old counter. “And it has exactly what we are looking for.”   
“What?” she looked confused, and cocked her head to the side, but suddenly her eyes widened in realisation. “Oh, you mean a map! Where?”

I walked over to the wire stand and scanned the selection, and on the third row down, sat a thick, colourful map, with a yellow front and a bold, black title: United Kingdom. I picked it up and showed it to Ginn. “This is exactly what we need. This will show us the way we need to go, we just need to look it over and plan the route.” 

I beamed at Ginn, but her face wasn’t as happy as mine. “We? Don’t you remember what I said, Domer? The end of the city, and that’s it.” She snatched the map out of my hand and pulled at my bag, turning me around. She unzipped the main compartment and shoved in the map.

“Sorry. Guess I just got ahead of myself.” I chuckled sadly. Being alone on this trip is going to be hard, sad, and lonely, especially because I know nothing about survival. I am probably going to die in to days. 

“Good. At least you know.” She stated matter-of-factually. She walked over to the door and peered out. She straightened up and turned to me. “the coast is clear. We should go before more Nuclears find us. Two encounters in one day isn’t normal, they’re probably everywhere.”

“What do you mean?” 

She sighed and shook her head. “Going Nuclear is kind of rare. We try not to let it happen, and if we feel it, others will end it before the transition is complete, or we end it ourselves. It’s hard, but we do manage. Only just, anyway…” she trailed off, hugging herself and looking down. She looked so sad.

“What do you mean?” I walked up to her and put my hand on her shoulder in comfort. She shrugged me off and turned towards the door.

“I’ll explain later. Lets just go.” She placed her hand on her knife and slowly opened the door, checking for Nuclears all the way. She waved her hand at me, telling me to follow her outside, and we started to walk back to her base.

I think I have an idea why she is alone then…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooooooo..........  
> Nuclears, am i right?
> 
> hope you enjoyed!

**Author's Note:**

> So, I hope you enjoyed that chapter, and i hope you like all of the characters so far.  
> Remember to check the Tumblr!


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